Why Use YouTube?

Why Use YouTube?

YouTube was launched in 2005 and has grown exponentially over the years as people share their ideas and passions on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. In fact, according to YouTube’s most recent statistics, 100 hours of video are uploaded every minute and more than 1 billion unique users visit the site each month. Taking advantage of YouTube’s reach and opportunity to show off your products and services through video is a great benefit to your dealership. But why?

YouTube content=great SEO benefits! Why? Creating unique video content lends itself to being easily and regularly shared. This benefits your dealership not only for the purpose of getting your business, products, and services out there, but it also has huge SEO benefits as search engines favor this content and websites that offer it. Also, YouTube is also the second largest search engine after Google. People are searching on YouTube to learn about products and services, so having content that is optimized for being found makes sense. Finally, YouTube is owned by Google. Much like Google+, Google favors YouTube profiles when it comes to content and authority, boosting your SEO benefits even more.

Another great reason to be on YouTube is the ability to make the interaction between your dealerships and your customers more real and personal. Creating videos are easy now as most smartphones have high quality cameras, so why not take advantage of putting a face to your dealership. Show customers safety tips, proper use of the equipment, company activities. etc. The personal touch puts your dealership a step above competition as it allows customers to realistically connect with your dealership’s lifestyle and brand. This relationship building becomes a long term strategy for your dealership that creates customers for life.

Here are some tips to get the most out of using YouTube:

Embed videos onto your website and other social platforms. Having the content out there, lends to sharing, which only benefits your dealership!

Optimize your profile and video headlines. Fill out your profile accurately and include your dealership’s URL. Also, be sure to label your videos with keywords relevant to your industry. These things allow for YouTube to boost your authority with search engines, giving you the most SEO bang!

Keep your videos short and informative. As we said above, people come to YouTube to learn and be entertained. Create videos that hold their interest while teaching them about your products, dealerships or other offerings. It is recommended to keep videos around 2 minutes or less, like Bobcat did for this video about the M-Series. Another idea for content? Try doing a walk around of a new model that your just got into your dealership.

Update content regularly. YouTube users that have been most successful, update their content regularly allowing for fresh messaging which keep viewers engaged with your channel.

Dont be afraid to be silly. Post quick videos of office pranks, a new employee, employee birthdays, etc. Have you seen how many dealerships have posted videos for the #ALSIceBucketChallenge? Join the fun.

Be patient. It takes time to build a YouTube channel, so don’t be discouraged if after posting a few videos your channel doesn’t have a lot of subscribers. Continue to focus on engaging content that is updated regularly, announce your channel on other social platforms, your website and/or email lists, and your followers will come!

What are some companies that you follow on YouTube? What makes them stand out and allows you to connect? Share with us in the comments below.